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Things to do in Macau including casinos, film, clubs, bars and restaurants
Shakespeare will either be turning in his grave or chuckling with delight as Montreal’s 4D Art bring their staging of The Tempest to the Macau Arts Festival. The Canadian company are using state-of-the-art multimedia effects to enhance the play, creating a paranormal tableau of spirits and magic in a show that blurs the boundaries between theatre and cinema.
The show has been crafted by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, who were also behind the recent Cirque du Soleil show Delirium. The duo’s strength lies in their technological wizardry, and here they collaborate with director Denise Guilbault in restaging Shakespeare’s final play.
The Tempest tells the tale of Prospero, the Duke of Milan, who – forced into exile by his brother – lives with his daughter Miranda on a remote island. The aging sorcerer plots his revenge, enlisting the help of a spirit, Ariel, to create the titular storm and cause his enemies to shipwreck on the island. When Miranda falls in love with his arch enemy’s son, however, Prospero must rethink his plans.
The presence of spells, storms and magical spirits in the play make it perfect foil for 4D Art. They split the plot into the world of the island – played by actors on the stage – and the realm of Prospero’s imagination, where spirits, phantoms and memories are represented by projected images from pre-recorded performances by an additional cast of six.
Critics have praised the show for its forging of a new direction in live theatre, with the merging of real time actors and recorded images. It’s definitely a smart move for a touring company looking to cut travelling costs – of the ten actors ‘on stage’, only four of them are there in the flesh.
The show may not be for everyone: the company reduces the bard’s play to a mere 90 minutes, while the entire show is also presented in French, with surtitles in Chinese, Portuguese and English. But with mesmerising stage trickery, the company brings out the supernatural quality of the play in a way that Shakespeare may well have been imagining all along.
Clare Morin
The Tempest shows at the Macao Cultural Centre, Fri 23 & Sat 24.